The Fifth Seal (1976) directed by Zoltán Fábri.In 1944 Budapest, one of a group of four friends poses a hypothetical moral question to the others, an act that will unexpectedly alter their lives forever.This is The Recommendation Game, a bi-weekly podcast where two film lovers take turns to recommend a film the other has not seen, they watch and th…

WEDDING WEEK EPISODE!!Whisper of the Heart (1995) directed by Yoshifumi Kondō.Based on the manga with the same title, this animated film follows Shizuku, an inquisitive young girl and a voracious reader, who longs to be a writer when she grows up. One day she notices that all of her library books have previously been taken out by one Seiji Amasawa.…

A Brighter Summer Day (1991) directed by Edward Yang.The intricacies of young love, masculinity, and identity are illuminated through the eyes of a 14-year-old Taiwanese boy as he moves through a pivotal era in his life.This is The Recommendation Game, a bi-weekly podcast where two film lovers take turns to recommend a film the other has not seen, …

Red River (1948) directed by Howard Hawks.Headstrong Thomas Dunson (John Wayne) starts a thriving Texas cattle ranch with the help of his faithful trail hand, Groot (Walter Brennan), and his protégé, Matt Garth (Montgomery Clift), an orphan Dunson took under his wing when Matt was a boy. In need of money following the Civil War, Dunson and Matt lea…

The Holdovers (2023) directed by Alexander Payne.A curmudgeonly instructor at a New England prep school remains on campus during Christmas break to babysit a handful of students with nowhere to go. He soon forms an unlikely bond with a brainy but damaged troublemaker, and with the school's head cook, a woman who just lost a son in the Vietnam War.T…

The Mitchells Vs. The Machines (2021) directed by Michael RiandaThis is The Recommendation Game, a bi-weekly podcast where two film lovers take turns to recommend a film the other has not seen, they watch and then skype to discuss it. Spoilers are a given.We are Ricardo Deakin and Orla McNelis, two filmy types who love waffling.Catch us on Dublin D…

The Beasts (2022) directed by Rodrigo Sorogoyen.A French couple move to a Galician town in search of a closer relationship with nature. However, a conflict with their neighbours, the Anta brothers, causes tensions to grow until the situation reaches a point of no return.This is The Recommendation Game, a bi-weekly podcast where two film lovers take…

The Count of Monte Cristo (2002) directed by Kevin Reynolds.Special guest episode!! Eileen joins us for 00's delights. May I steal your wife?... for the DANCE.The classic story of an innocent man wrongly, but deliberately imprisoned and his brilliant strategy for revenge against those who betrayed him. Dashing young sailor Edmond Dantes (Jim Caviez…

Psycho 2 (1983) directed by Richard Franklin.Two decades after the original murders at the Bates Motel, Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) completes his treatment at a mental institution and returns home to find his hotel run down under the management of Warren Toomey (Dennis Franz). Despite a new friendship with a waitress (Meg Tilly) and a job busing…

Robocop (1987) directed by Paul Verhoeven. Basil PoledourisIn a violent, near-apocalyptic Detroit, evil corporation Omni Consumer Products wins a contract from the city government to privatize the police force. To test their crime-eradicating cyborgs, the company leads street cop Alex Murphy (Peter Weller) into an armed confrontation with crime lor…

Wendy and Lucy (2008) directed by Kelly Reichardt.Wendy (Michelle Williams), a near-penniless drifter, is traveling to Alaska in search of work, and her only companion is her dog, Lucy. Already perilously close to losing everything, Wendy hits a bigger bump in the road when her old car breaks down and she is arrested for shoplifting dog food. When …

Thief (1981) directed by Michael Mann.A highly skilled jewel thief, Frank (James Caan) longs to leave his dangerous trade and settle down with his girlfriend, Jessie (Tuesday Weld). Eager to make one last big score in order to begin living a legitimate life, Frank reluctantly associates with Leo (Robert Prosky), a powerful gangster. Unfortunately f…

All the Beauty and the Bloodshed (2022) directed by Laura Poitras.From Academy Award winner Laura Poitras comes an epic, emotional and interconnected story about internationally renowned artist and activist Nan Goldin told through her slideshows, intimate interviews, ground-breaking photography, and rare footage of her personal fight to hold the Sa…

EPISODE 200!!!! HOLY CRAPLawrence of Arabia (1962) directed by David Lean.Due to his knowledge of the native Bedouin tribes, British Lieutenant T.E. Lawrence (Peter O'Toole) is sent to Arabia to find Prince Faisal (Alec Guinness) and serve as a liaison between the Arabs and the British in their fight against the Turks. With the aid of native Sherif…

After Life (1998) directed by Hirokazu KoreedaIn this acclaimed Japanese film, a group of people who have recently died find themselves in a limbo realm resembling a relatively mundane building. Counselors, including Takashi (Arata) and Shiori (Erika Oda), are on hand to help new arrivals pick one memory from their lives to bring with them into ete…

Top Gun: Maverick (2022) directed by Joseph Kosinski.After more than 30 years of service as one of the Navy's top aviators, Pete "Maverick" Mitchell is where he belongs, pushing the envelope as a courageous test pilot and dodging the advancement in rank that would ground him. Training a detachment of graduates for a special assignment, Maverick mus…

Museum Hours (2012) directed by Jem CohenA Vienna museum guard befriends a visitor, and the two explore their lives, the city and the ways artwork reflects the world.This is The Recommendation Game, a bi-weekly podcast where two film lovers take turns to recommend a film the other has not seen, they watch and then skype to discuss it. Spoilers are …

Tokyo Story (1953) directed by Yasujirō OzuA profoundly stirring evocation of elemental humanity and universal heartbreak, Tokyo Story is the crowning achievement of the unparalleled Yasujiro Ozu. The film, which follows an aging couple’s journey to visit their grown children in bustling postwar Tokyo, surveys the rich and complex world of family l…

The Hole (1998) directed by Ming-liang TsaiWhile never-ending rain and a strange disease spread by cockroaches ravage Taiwan, a plumber makes a hole between two apartments and the inhabitants of each form a unique connection, enacted in musical numbers.This is The Recommendation Game, a bi-weekly podcast where two film lovers take turns to recommen…

HAPPY HOLIDAAAAYS!!!Little Women (2019) directed by Great Gerwig.In the years after the Civil War, Jo March lives in New York and makes her living as a writer, while her sister Amy studies painting in Paris. Amy has a chance encounter with Theodore, a childhood crush who proposed to Jo but was ultimately rejected. Their oldest sibling, Meg, is marr…

6 WHOLE YEARS! Happy Birthday to usThis week's film is No Way Out (1987) directed by Roger Donaldson.Navy Lt. Tom Farrell (Kevin Costner) meets a young woman, Susan Atwell (Sean Young), and they share a passionate fling. Farrell then finds out that his superior, Defense Secretary David Brice (Gene Hackman), is also romantically involved with Atwell…

Le Havre (2011) directed by Aki Kaurismäki.In this warmhearted comic yarn from Aki Kaurismäki, fate throws the young African refugee Idrissa (Blondin Miguel) into the path of Marcel Marx (André Wilms), a kindly old bohemian who shines shoes for a living in the French harbor city Le Havre. With inborn optimism and the support of his tight-knit commu…

Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets (2020) directed by Bill Ross IV and Turner RossAn intoxicating blend of documentary and fiction, Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets surveys the bar-going life with a remarkably sober eye.This is The Recommendation Game, a bi-weekly podcast where two film lovers take turns to recommend a film the other has not seen, they watch and…

Monsieur Hulot's Holiday (1953) directed by Jacques Tati.When the ever-hapless Monsieur Hulot (Jacques Tati) decides to vacation at a beautiful seaside resort, rest and relaxation don't last long, given the gangly gent's penchant for ridiculous antics. While simply out to enjoy himself, the well-meaning Hulot inevitably stumbles into numerous misad…

The Truffle Hunters (2021) dircted by Michael Dweck, Gregory KershawA handful of men search for rare, expensive, and delicious white Alba truffles deep in the forests of Piedmont, Italy.This is The Recommendation Game, a bi-weekly podcast where two film lovers take turns to recommend a film the other has not seen, they watch and then skype to discu…

The Killing (1956) directed by Stanley Kubrick.Stanley Kubrick’s account of an ambitious racetrack robbery is one of Hollywood’s tautest, twistiest noirs. Aided by a radically time-shuffling narrative, razor-sharp dialogue from pulp novelist Jim Thompson, and a phenomenal cast of character actors, including Sterling Hayden, Coleen Gray, Timothy Car…

Spencer (2021) dircted by Pablo Larraín.The marriage between Princess Diana and Prince Charles has long since grown cold. Though rumors of affairs and a divorce abound, peace is ordained for the Christmas festivities at the queen's estate. There's eating and drinking, shooting and hunting. Diana knows the game, but this year, things will be profoun…

Claire's Knee (1970) directed by Eric Rohmer.“Why would I tie myself to one woman?” asks Jerôme in Claire’s Knee, though he plans to marry a diplomat’s daughter by summer’s end. He spends his July at a lakeside boardinghouse, nursing crushes on the sixteen-year-old Laura and, more tantalizingly, her long-legged, blonde, older half sister, Claire. B…

Flee (2021) directed by Jonas Poher Rasmussen.Flee tells the story of Amin Nawabi as he grapples with a painful secret he has kept hidden for 20 years, one that threatens to derail the life he has built for himself and his soon to be husband. Recounted mostly through animation to director Jonas Poher Rasmussen, he tells for the first time the story…

The Invisible Life Of Eurídice Gusmão (2021) directed by Karim Aïnouz.Kept apart by a terrible lie, years pass as two sisters forge their respective paths through their city's teeming bustle, each believing the other to be half a world away.This is The Recommendation Game, a bi-weekly podcast where two film lovers take turns to recommend a film the…

Petite Maman (2021) directed by Céline Sciamma.Nelly, an 8-year-old girl, has just lost her beloved grandmother and is helping her parents clean out her mother's childhood home. One day, her mom abruptly leaves, and Nelly meets a girl her age as she's building a tree house in the woods.This is The Recommendation Game, a bi-weekly podcast where two …

To Be or Not to Be (1942) directed by Ernst LubitschAs nervy as it is hilarious, this screwball masterpiece from Ernst Lubitsch stars Jack Benny and, in her final screen appearance, Carole Lombard as husband-and-wife thespians in Nazi-occupied Warsaw who become caught up in a dangerous spy plot. To Be or Not to Be is a Hollywood film of the boldest…

Pig (2021) directed by Michael Sarnoski.Living alone in the Oregon wilderness, a truffle hunter returns to Portland to find the person who stole his beloved pig.This is The Recommendation Game, a bi-weekly podcast where two film lovers take turns to recommend a film the other has not seen, they watch and then skype to discuss it. Spoilers are a giv…

Laputa: Castle in the Sky (1986) directed by Hayao Miyazaki.Young orphan Sheeta and her kidnapper, Col. Muska, are flying to a military prison when their plane is attacked by a gang of air pirates led by the matronly Dola. Escaping from a mid-air collision via a magic crystal around her neck, Sheeta meets fellow orphan Pazu and the pair join forces…

Azor (2021) directed by Andreas Fontana.Argentina, 1980. Private banker Yvan arrives from Geneva to replace a colleague who has mysteriously disappeared in military-ruled Buenos Aires. Moving through a society under surveillance, he finds himself untangling a sinister web of colonialism, high finance, and a nation’s “Dirty War”.This is The Recommen…

McFarland USA (2015) directed by Niki CaroTrack coach Jim White joins a high school in California and develops a unique bond with the students. When he realises the boys' exceptional running ability, he decides to sharpen their skills.HAPPY NEW YEAR, FUCK YOU 2021!!!This is The Recommendation Game, a bi-weekly podcast where two film lovers take tur…

Klaus (2019) directed by Sergio PablosAfter proving himself to be the worst student at the academy, a postman is sent to a frozen town in the North where he discovers a reclusive toymaker named Klaus.Merry Christmas everyone! This is The Recommendation Game, a bi-weekly podcast where two film lovers take turns to recommend a film the other has not …

Dick Johnson is Dead (2020) directed by Kirsten Johnson.As her father nears the end of his life, filmmaker Kirsten Johnson stages his death in inventive and comical ways to help them both face the inevitable.HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO US. We are officially 5 years young. 5 years and 175 episodes, how the hell did that happen.This is The Recommendation Game,…

The Wild Bunch (1969) directed by Sam Peckinpah. A troop of aging outlaws plot a grand heist, before they could retire from the criminal world. They ride into a Texas border town in order to rob a local railroad office.HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO US. We are officially 5 years young. 5 years and 175 episodes, how the hell did that happen.This is The Recommend…

The Wailing (2016) directed by Na Hong-jinSuspicion leads to hysteria when rural villagers link a series of brutal murders to the arrival of a mysterious stranger (Kunimura Jun).This is The Recommendation Game, a bi-weekly podcast where two film lovers take turns to recommend a film the other has not seen, they watch and then skype to discuss it. S…

Mr Klein (1976) directed by Joseph Losey.Neglected for decades, this chilling existentialist mystery has reemerged as one of director Joseph Losey’s most virtuosic works. In perhaps the finest performance of his career, Alain Delon stars as the wealthy Robert Klein, an amoral art dealer in Nazi-occupied Paris who exploits the persecution of his Jew…

Sisters with Transistors (2020) directed by Lisa Rovner.Filmmaker Lisa Rovner follows the story of electronic music's female pioneers, composers who embraced machines and their liberating technologies to transform how we produce and listen to music today.This is The Recommendation Game, a bi-weekly podcast where two film lovers take turns to recomm…

The Leopard (1963) directed by Luchino ViscontiAs Garibaldi's troops begin the unification of Italy in the 1860s, an aristocratic Sicilian family grudgingly adapts to the sweeping social changes undermining their way of life. Proud but pragmatic Prince Don Fabrizio Salina (Burt Lancaster) allows his war hero nephew, Tancredi (Alain Delon), to marry…

Summer of Soul (2021) directed by QuestloveOver the course of six weeks during the summer of 1969, thousands of people attend the Harlem Cultural Festival to celebrate Black history, culture, music and fashion.This is The Recommendation Game, a bi-weekly podcast where two film lovers take turns to recommend a film the other has not seen, they watch…

Ali: Fear Eats the Soul (1974) directed by Rainer Werner FassbinderEmmi, a sixty-year-old German woman, falls in love with Ali, a Moroccan immigrant, twenty-five years her junior. The couple faces rejection from friends and this puts a strain on their relationship.This is The Recommendation Game, a bi-weekly podcast where two film lovers take turns…

Certain Women (2016) directed by Kelly ReichardtAn unhappy client constantly troubles Laura, a small-town lawyer; an unhappy Gina feels her husband constantly undermines her; Jamie, who lives alone on a ranch, is attracted to Beth, a lawyer.This is The Recommendation Game, a bi-weekly podcast where two film lovers take turns to recommend a film the…

La Grande Illusion (1937) directed by Jean Renoir.A group of French soldiers, including the patrician Captain de Boeldieu (Pierre Fresnay) and the working-class Lieutenant Maréchal (Jean Gabin), grapple with their own class differences after being captured and held in a World War I German prison camp. When the men are transferred to a high-security…

Tampopo (1985) directed by Juzo ItamiTwo Japanese milk-truck drivers (Tsutomu Yamazaki, Ken Watanabe) help a restaurant owner (Nobuko Miyamoto) learn how to cook great noodles.This is The Recommendation Game, a bi-weekly podcast where two film lovers take turns to recommend a film the other has not seen, they watch and then skype to discuss it. Spo…

Floating Weeds (1959) directed by Yasujirō OzuThe head of a Japanese theatre troupe returns to a small coastal town where he left a son who thinks he is his uncle, and tries to make up for the lost time, but his current mistress grows jealous.This is The Recommendation Game, a bi-weekly podcast where two film lovers take turns to recommend a film t…

The Guardian (2006) directed by Andrew DavisChampion swimmer Jake learns the true meaning of heroism and sacrifice when he meets Ben Randall. After enduring a horrific storm and losing his crew, Ben is sent to train more swimmers at an academy.This is The Recommendation Game, a bi-weekly podcast where two film lovers take turns to recommend a film …